Reviews

That Thing about Bollywood by Supriya Kelkar

tara1234's review

2.0

I thought I would really enjoy this book but I dnf at 45%. Maybe will try to read it a different time. :)

charvi_not_just_fiction's review

5.0

I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. I mean the premise seems fun but this book is so beautifully written and it explores so many important topics. I think it's incredibly important for children these days to know how to express themselves and that it's okay to be emotional. It's something I struggled with as well and it was just incredibly hard to see little Sonali suppressing absolutely every emotion she had. It was also lovely and heartwarming to see her go through the emotional journey thanks to Bollywooditis.

I think the Indian rep was so on point. I feel like in the Indian community particularly we are asked to hide our emotions and troubles from everyone to save face or just not embarrass ourselves. To show only our good lives. I love that this book tries to break those rules imposed on children. It shows how it creates a cycle of relationships where emotions are bottled up and repressed and it just ends up causing so much hurt to everyone involved.

The Bollywooditis was so fun to read about! What with all the references and the singing and dancing, it added lightness to a book that talks about such heavy things although I must say I was perpetually getting second-hand embarrassment, lol.

All in all this book really touched my heart and I would definitely recommend it to readers across ages!

TW: divorce, off-page death of grandparent

literatehedgehog's review

3.0

Desi magical realism, where a girl's repressed feelings about her parents' fights and friend jealousy come out as Bollywood songs. I liked the premise and clear love for Bollywood movies, but the middle drags out too long.

afro8921's review

4.0

That Thing about Bollywood takes a young girl who always suppresses her true feelings and makes her act them out. I loved the bollywood theme and also the vulnerability of the characters in the story. Great realistic fiction read.

lprongs's review

3.0

Sonali's parents are separating and she hides those emotions under a mask. When her feelings start putting on Bollywood performances, she has to find out how to stop it before it changes everything.

renuka__'s review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I think the concept behind this book was fun, but I thought it was executed in such a repetitive and dry way. Even for a middle grade book, I really couldn’t believe how obviously everything was stated and how the main character’s growth/pain points took so long to overcome (in terms of chapters). It felt like all of her trauma had stemmed from this singular experience as a child and the author beat that point home over and over again. I think this book might actually make for a good movie adaptation where the movie was better. 

thenovelbook's review

2.0

This middle-grade book is a jumbo-sized metaphor to teach younger readers about the benefits of expressing their feelings instead of bottling them up.

Sonali has always loved her Bollywood movie nights with family, but she herself couldn't be further from the singing, dancing, overacting, emotional expression of the movies. Tension and fighting between her parents has wounded her so deeply over the years that she thinks the only way to cope is not to feel. Then her family starts to split up for real.

In a fantastical, magical twist, suddenly Sonali's world is turned into a Bollywood extravaganza, where everyone has their own soundtrack and everyone sings or dances their feelings at the drop of a hat. Including Sonali herself. She's horrified at the way her feelings are starting to escape her. The longer it goes on, the more Bollywood her life becomes. Will she ever get out of this absurdity? The only hope is if she can learn to genuinely speak her feelings to the people around her.

The message is a truly worthy one, and I really liked the discussion that Sonali finally has with her best friend Zara about how friends aren't mind readers and that they have to tell each other what they're feeling.
But the device of a magically-Bollywood-infused world goes on rather too long and could have been more effective in a somewhat shorter book. Also, different readers may have different reactions to the supposedly inevitable split-up of Sonali's family, which to me was the most regrettable part of the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for this advance review copy.

i_will_papercut_a_bish's review

5.0

Supriya Kelkar has created such a fascinating and unique magical world, in which 11-year-old Sonali wakes up one day to find all her hard-suppressed feelings have transformed her world into a Bollywood movie. She couldn't hide her true emotions, even if she wanted to!

This story is a beautiful, humorous exploration of the importance of processing your feelings with others and reaching out for help from your support network. The topic of divorce and family difficulty is handled with equal parts brutal honesty and tender empathy, in a way that's relevant and deeply accessible to young readers. I was rooting for Sonali all the way through! This book is a unique treasure on any family or classroom bookshelf, and I'm so excited to read the author's next book!

ila_mae's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

sbsterling's review

3.0

Far too long but a great and worthwhile message.